Compressed gas-type liquid dispenser



Jan. 20, 1.970 1 K. A. TASCHNER COMPRESSED GASTYPE LIQUID DISPENSER Filed May 21., 1968 33 3 4 I Hg. 1.

I I II ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,490,656 COMPRESSED GAS-TYPE LIQUID DISPENSER Kenneth A. Taschner, 1220 W. 223rd St., Torrance, Calif. 90502 Filed May 21, 1968, Ser. No. 730,710 Int. Cl. B65d 83/00 US. Cl. 222394 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE the container no matter what position the container is held.

Compressed gas-type liquid dispensers are by now well known for their utility and ease of use for many dilferent applications from the dispensing of shaving cream to the spraying of paint. Generally, this type of dispenser has come to be known as an Aerosol dispenser due to the type of chemical used to provide the compressed gas pressure to force the liquid to be dispensed from the container through a nozzle when a valve mechanism, usually associated with the nozzle, is actuated.

In all known commercially available dispenser cans of this type, the liquid and gas under pressure is sealed when manufactured so that when the liquid contents of the dispenser is depleted, it is no longer usable or refillable and must be discarded. There are, however, several advantageous applications of a compressed gas-type liquid dispenser that could be refilled with a liquid and recharged with compressed gas. For example, automotive gasoline filling stations could advantageously utilize such a refillable dispenser for dispensing a liquid chemical glass cleaner on Windshields of automobiles and the like where the container could easily be recharged with compressed air from the source used to inflate the tires of automobiles serviced there.

Also, in all known commercially available dispenser cans of the type described, the position of the can as it is held when the valve is actuated will determine whether the liquid or the gas within the can will be emitted from the nozzle. That is, if the can is being held generally upright when the valve is actuated, the liquid will be dispensed but if the can is held generally horizontally or upside down, then the compressed gas will be ejected from the nozzle and not the liquid. This is due to the fact that these dispensers now available use rather stiif intake stems or tubes of metal or stiff plastic extending from the bottom or intake of the valve mechanism to the vicinity of the other end of the container which is the bottom of the can. Thus, it can be readily visualized that when the can is inverted, the liquid therein flows to the lowest position of the can due to the force of gravity and leaves the intake end of the stem only surrounded by the compressed gas. This principle has proven desirable, however, in applications where the liquid to be dispensed tends to harden upon being exposed to the atmosphere, such as paint for example. Here, the users of such spray paint 3,490,656 Patented Jan. 20, 1970 cans are directed by the manufacturer to invert the can and then actuate the valve in order to have the gas so ejected to clear any of the possibly clogging liquid from the nozzle so that the device will be ready for use on the next occasion.

There are, however, many applications where it would be very desirable to be able to dispense a steady flow of the liquid from the nozzle no matter in what position the container is held. For example, it would be very desirable to be able to spray paint upon the underside of a heavy or immovable object and not have the problem of maintaining the spray can in generally an upright position. In many such situations, there simply isnt enough room to do so; whereas, if the container could be made to spray such a steady flow of paint with the can held horizontally or even inverted, the job could be accomplished.

From the foregoing, it should be clear that a compressed gas-type liquid dispenser that may be refilled and recharged and/or that may be used effectively in any position would constitute a substantial advancement of the art. Such an advantageous device is provided by the present invention which incorporates a flexible intake stem or tubing in place of the rather stiff stems known in the prior art and that further incorporates a weight at the open end of this flexible stem so that it will follow the liquid in the container, unless constrained, no matter in what position the dispenser may be utilized. This invention may also incorporate a capturing structure that will hold the weighted end of the flexible tubing near the opopsite end of the container from where the valve mechanism is located, only when desired, in order to be able to eject a portion of the compressed gas and thereby clear the nozzle of any liquid that may posibly block this opening.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved compressed gas-type liquid dispenser that is competitive in cost to prior art devices of this type.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a compressed gas-type liquid dispenser that may be refilled and recharged with a compressed gas.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a compressed gas-type liquid dispenser that may be effectively used to dispense a liquid in any position.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a compressed gas-type liquid dispenser that may be utilized in any position and that may also be oriented to a position where the compressed gas may be forced through the nozzle to clear this opening of any possible contaminants.

The invention and specific embodiments thereof will be described hereinafter by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements or parts, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective cut-away view of a compressed gas-type liquid dispenser constructed according to the invention and shown in an upright position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective cut-away view of an embodiment of the invention where the container is shown on its side; and

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the invention where the container is shown in an inverted position.

With reference now to the drawing and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a container 11 having a top portion 13, a bottom portion 15 and a cylindrical side member 17 of any suitable material such as steel, aluminum or aluminum alloy, and the like. The different portions and member making up the container 11 may be joined together by any suitable means such as welding, soldering, sweating or the container may be formed from a single sheet of material or any combination of the above procedures or any other procedure that will provide a scalable container capable of holding liquid 19 to be dispensed and a gaseous material 21 at a pressure capable of forcing the liquid 19 from the container 11 by the means provided.

The liquid 19 is forced by the pressure of the gas 21 to flow through an opening 23 at an end 25 of a flexible tube 27 when a valve-nozzel mechanism 29, to which the other end (not shown) of the flexible tube 27 is attached and communicates. is actuated. In the embodiments shown, a valve portion 31 of the mechanism 29 is actuated by the forcing of a relatively stiff neck tubing 33 into the valve portion 31 by applying pressure on top of a head member 35 attached to the neck tubing 33. The head member 35 includes a nozzel 37 that communicates with the hollow portion of the neck tubing 33 so that when the valve portion 31 is actuated, the liquid 19 flows through the valve 31, the neck tubing 33 and is ejected from the nozzel 37 in the head member 35. The type of valve-nozzel mechanism shown is well known in the art and will not be described in detail. Generally, the mechanism is fabricated from plastic materials but any material suitable for this application may be used. Also, any other type valve-nozzel mechanism or assembly may be substituted for the type shown.

The end 25 of the flexible tubing 27 is weighted by a weight 39 fitted about the tubing 27 in a manner not to restrict the opening 23 or passageway for the liquid in the tubing. As can be seen from this figure, the weight 39 is acted upon by the force of gravity to hold the end 25 of the flexible tubing 27 near the bottom portion 15 of the container 11. It will be evident, therefore, that since the liquid 19 is also acted upon by the force of gravity in a similar manner, the weight 39 will cause the end 25 of the flexible tubing 27 to follow the position of the liquid within the container 11 without regard to what position the container 11 is rotated.

FIG. 2 illustrates the above-described operation where the container 11 is held in a generally horizontal position. Here, the opening 23 in the flexible tubing 27 is adjacent the side member 17 of the container 11 at the bottom of that portion of the container in which the liquid 19 is shown situated. The tubing 27 may be of any suitable material such as plastic, for example, and need not have a particularly heavy side wall portion because the pressure exerted on the outside of the tubing is generally equal to that exerted inside the tubing. It must, however, be flexible and the weight 39 must be of such size and density or have such mass that the weight will force the end 25 of the tubing 27 to move in conformance with the force of gravity through the particular liquid to be dispensed.

This figure also shows a modified valve 31 having a threaded outer section 51 and a hex-head member 53 so that the valve 31 may be removed by unscrewing the threaded outer section 51 from a cooperating threaded inner wall of an opening (not shown) in the container. Also, this embodiment shows a conventional compressed gas intake valve 55 in the top portion 13 for charging the container 11 with a compressed gas such as air, for example. As a safety measure, a safety valve 57 may also be incorporated as shown so that if the pressure of the gas within the container reaches a predetermined maximum safe level, the valve 57 will open to release any excess gas to prevent overcharging and eliminate the possibility of causing the container to burst.

With reference to FIG. 3, there is shown still another embodiment of the invention wherein a capturing member 71 is attached to the inner wall portion of the side member 17 near the bottom portion 15 of the container 11. The container 11 is illustrated in a generally inverted position and it can be seen that the weight 39 has forced the end 25 of the flexible tubing 27 to a position adjacent the top portion 13 of the container 11. In the event, however, that the liquid 19 is of the type that dries to a hard texture upon being exposed to the surrounding atmosphere and thus causes nozzel clogging problems, the container 11 may first be held in an upright position and then tilted over in a predetermined radial direction to an inverted position so that the fork-like capturing member 71 will hold the weight 39 above the level of the liquid 19 near the bottom portion 15 of the container. When in this position, the valve-nozzel mechanism 29 may be actuated to allow for the escape of a portion of the gas 21 through the nozzel 37. The correct direction in which to cause the capturing of the weight 39 may be marked by a mark of any suitable type on or near the top portion of the container 11. This direction to be used in order to capture the weight is the direction going from the center of the container 11 radially toward the side member 17 and passing through the center of the capturing member 71. It should be evident that if by chance the weight 39 is captured by the member 71 when a steady flow of liquid if desired to be dispensed, the container need only be rotated and twisted to release the weight 39 so that it will fall to the lowest position within the container. Although the member 71 as shown has only one capturing notch, it should be understood that the member 71 may extend over a larger portion of the containers inner circumference and have many more notches in order to facilitate the capturing procedure.

From the foregoing, it will be obvious that the invention provides an improved and highly useful and economical to fabricate compressed gas-type liquid dispenser that is usable when held in any position and that may also be refilled and recharged if desired.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, other organizations of the embodiments shown may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Accordingly, it is intended that the foregoing disclosure and drawing referred to shall be considered only as illustrations of the principles of this invention and are not to be construed in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A compressed gas-type liquid dispenser, comprising:

container means for holding a gas at a predetermined pressure and a liquid to be dispensed;

valve and nozzle means attached to said container means and communicating With the contents thereof for dispensing through a nozzle the contents of said container when actuated; flexible tubing means disposed within said container means and having a first end coupled to said valve and nozzle means and a second end for conveying therethrough to said valve and nozzle means gaseous and liquid materials exposed to the opening in said second end, when said valve and nozzle means is actuated; weighting means connected to the outer surface of said flexible tubing means adjacent said second end for causing said second end to seek and maintain when not constrained a position within said container means governed by gravity forces acting thereon; and

capturing means disposed within said container means adjacent the end thereof farthest from said valve and nozzle means for capturing and readily disengaging said weighting means thereat.

2. A compressed gas-type liquid dispenser according to claim 1, wherein said container means also includes means for refilling and recharging said container means with a liquid and compressed gas.

3. A compressed gas-type liquid dispenser according to claim 2, wherein said container means further includes safety valve means for preventing overcharging of said compressed gas.

4. A compressed gas-type liquid dispenser according to claim 1, wherein said container means also includes means for refilling and recharging said container means with a liquid and compressed gas.

5. A compressed gas-type liquid dispenser according w to claim 4, wherein said container means further includes safety valve means for preventing overcharging said container means with said compressed gas.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 664,898 1/1901 Safford 222-188 2,961,131 11/1960 Bradbury 222-40224 X 2,978,152 4/1961 Batty "222-376 X 3,088,680 5/1963 Fulton et al 222-376 X 3,158,298 11/1964 Briechle 239-579 X ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner N. L. STACK, JR., Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 222-464 

